The formation of silver metal nanoparticles by ion implantation in silicate glasses

It has been shown that glasses containing silver metal nanoparticles are promising photonics materials for the fabrication of all-optical components. The resulting optical properties of the nanocomposite glasses depend on the composition and structure of the glass, as well as on the type of metal ion implanted and the experimental procedures involved. The main aim of this article was to study the influence of the conditions of the ion implantation and the composition of the glass on the formation of metal nanoparticles in such glasses.

Four various types of silicate glasses were implanted with Ag+ ions with different energy (330 keV, 1.2 MeV and 1.7 MeV), with the fluence being kept constant (1 × 1016 ions cm−2). The as-implanted samples were annealed at 600 °C for 1 h. The samples were characterised in terms of: the nucleation of metal nanoparticles (linear optical absorption), the migration of silver through the glass matrix during the implantation and post-implantation annealing (Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy), and the oxidation state of silver (photoluminescence in the visible region).